End of the trail for the Cowboys.
While two Camp Verde High School wrestlers won individual state titles, the team fell short of capturing its fourth straight Division IV title Saturday, Feb. 13, at the Prescott Valley Events Center.
Difficult odds for a CVHS four-peat became impossible to overcome after knee and ankle injuries forced 195-pound State qualifier, freshman Favian Chagolla, to drop out of the tournament prior to its championship round on the second day Feb. 13.
Even though what was left barely constituted more than half a team, senior Matt Mejia and junior Hayden Uhler finished their seasons undefeated, taking home their second and third state titles, respectively, at 132 and 126 pounds.
“I’m really excited to have another state title,” Uhler said. “I’ve worked really hard this year with conditioning and drilling.
“I would have never been able to achieve this title without the support of my family, my drilling partners, my coaches by my side and without God’s protection and guidance through every move.”
Junior Ezekiel Casillas also made a run at winning his first individual title at 120 pounds.
But the opponent he pinned for his Section II title Feb. 5 pinned him in the state championship match, and junior heavyweight Jesus Curiel ended up being the only other Cowboy to medal with a fifth-place finish of his own.
Mejia bookended his high school career with state championships. This one was at 132 pounds, pinning all four of his championship-round opponents Feb. 13 to capture his second individual crown and end his senior year 38-0.
“Matt Mejia’s been my buddy and drilling partner for years,” Uhler said. “I’m excited for him and his future. [He]’ll be missed.”
Uhler capped a remarkable undefeated season of his own with a 16-5 major decision over Winslow High School junior Quincy Foster. Uhler began his day by pinning two 126-pound seniors, and needed just 28 more seconds to defeat Round Valley High School sophomore Mickey Mariscal on a technical fall to advance to the championship match.
“Not bad for just eight competing,” said head coach Tracy Tudor, who finished more than 50 points behind state champion Safford High School for fifth place. “Just looking forward to building up the team again and making a comeback.”
Turnabout was fair play in the 120-pound weight class, as Casillas was pinned by Arizona Lutheran Academy’s Isai Barajas after pinning his first three finals opponents in a combined 101 seconds and beating Barajas by double digits Feb. 5 for the Section II title.
“Really proud of him,” Tudor said. “Casillas wrestled hard and nearly ended it with a win in the first [round] but fell in the second.”
Curiel was another wrestler whose efforts Tudor was proud of. In just a minute-and-a-half, Curiel pinned his first championship-round opponent, Hopi High School senior Avery Honyaktewa, for his 31st win. But, even though it took nearly six minutes, he was pinned by Morenci High School junior Jordan Arvizo in the quarterfinals.
In the consolation bracket, though, Curiel came back with three straight pins — the final one to take fifth over Red Mesa High School senior Chadley Sagg, who had 45 wins coming in.
Sophomore Daniel White bounced back from an opening-round pin in 3:11 to post a 6-1 decision over Morenci junior Gabriel Cabrera, only to score just a single point in the next round, falling by 10 points.
After getting pinned in 1:22 his first 160-pound match, sophomore Anthony Chagolla pinned American Leadership Academy sophomore Mark Dietze in 2:50 to win his 30th match of the year before losing in the next round, 9-4.
No other Cowboy wrestler could win a match Feb. 13, as Chagolla’s cousin, Favian, had to forfeit his championship-round matches and a shot at his 20th win of the season.
“We already have a full team for next season,” Tudor said. “[We] will train new ones this summer and retrain some veterans who will return for next year.”
Mingus Union High School freshman Trent Miller, the sole Marauder wrestler at State, made it to the fifth-place match as well but could not overcome Show Low High School senior Mason Fagotti at 132 pounds.
He defied even his own expectations Feb. 13, edging two Phoenix upperclassmen in one- and two-point decisions and pinning Payson High School junior Brooks Randall in 4:15 to go 3-1.
“I thought I was going to get my butt kicked,” he said. “I need to get in the weight room and work on my shot defense for next year.”
Miller would get pinned in 59 seconds by Safford High School junior Zachery Sias, then fall to Fagotti on points, 8-5.
For more photos and full Cowboys state results, please see the Wednesday, Feb. 17, issues of the Camp Verde Journal and Cottonwood Journal Extra.
